Elias Says: Sept. 13, 2017

The Twins hit homers in each of the first seven in innings in their 16-0 win over the Padres on Tuesday night. In doing so, they became the first team in major-league history to homer in each of the first seven innings of a game and the second team in MLB history to hit homers in seven consecutive innings in the same game. The Reds hit home runs in innings two through eight at Philadelphia on September 4, 1999.

The Twins beat the Royals, 17-0, on September 2 of this season. Minnesota is the second team in major league history to have two shutout wins by a margin of at least 16 runs twice in one calendar month. The Cardinals had two wins like that in June of 1944: 18-0 at Cincinnati and 16-0 at Pittsburgh.

The Twins’ victory was the 151st by an American League team against a National League team this season, and it clinched the 300-game interleague series for the American League for a 14th consecutive year. With 14 interleague games remaining this season, American League teams own a record of 151 wins and 135 losses, a winning percentage of .528.

Indians extend winning streak to 20 games

The Indians became the seventh team in major-league history to put together a winning streak as long as 20 games, though only the 1935 Cubs (21 games) and the 2002 Athletics (20 games) have done it over the last 100 years. The New York Giants set the major-league record with 26 consecutive wins in 1916—a streak that occurred completely within a single monster homestand that September. (The Giants had produced a 17-game winning streak—all on the road—earlier that season, but with all that, they finished fourth in an eight-team National League with a record of 86-66. Exactly half of their victories were earned during their two long winning streaks; in other games that season, they went 43-66!)

We also have to give an Elias Says nod to the Providence Grays of 1884, who captured the National League pennant helped by a 20-game winning streak late in the season. Old Hoss Radbourn started and won 18 of those 20 consecutive victories.

The Indians have allowed four or fewer runs in each of their last 19 games, the franchise’s longest such streak in over 100 years. Cleveland allowed four or fewer runs in 19 or more consecutive games within one season two other times. They had a 22-game streak in 1904 and a 19-gamer in 1906.

The last major league team to allow four or fewer runs in 19 consecutive games within one season was the Mariners in 2014 (20-game streak).

Kluber is 16-4

Corey Kluber threw a five-hit shutout to improve his record to 16-4. Only two other Indians pitchers over the last 65 years won 16 or more of their first 20 decisions of a season: Cliff Lee did it twice (16-4 in 2005 and 18-2 in 2008) and Charles Nagy did it in 1996 (16-4).

Lindor hits HR #30

Francisco Lindor hit his 30th home run of the season, all as a shortstop. At age 23 years, 302 days old, he is the second-youngest player in major league history to reach 30 home runs as a shortstop in a season. Alex Rodriguez was 21 years, 25 days old when he reached 30 homers as a shortstop in 1996 and 22 years, 357 days old when he did it in 1998.

Two more homers for Hoskins

Rhys Hoskins hit two more home runs in the Phillies’ 15-inning win over the Marlins. Hoskins has hit 16 home runs in his first 32 games in the major leagues, four more than any other player in major league history has. Four players hit 12 home runs in their first 32 career MLB games: Dave Hostetler (1981-1982), Kevin Maas (1990), Mike Jacobs (2005-2006) and Jose Abreu (2014).

Only one other player in Phillies history hit 16 or more home runs in his first 32 games of a season. Cy Williams hit 17 homers in his first 32 games in 1923.

Big game for Betts

Mookie Betts hit two homers and knocked in six runs in the Red Sox win over the A’s. Betts hit two homers and had eight RBIs in a game at Toronto earlier this season. Only two other players had two games with at least two homers and six RBIs this season: Andrew Benintendi and Anthony Rendon.

Moss’s first-inning slam holds up

Brandon Moss’s grand slam home run in the first inning was all the runs the Royals needed in their 4-3 win over the White Sox on Tuesday afternoon. Only one other player in Royals history hit a grand slam in the first inning that accounted for all of the team’s runs in a victory. Amos Otis hit a grand slam of Jack Morris in the opening frame in a 4-2 win over the Tigers on April 9, 1982

The last player on any team to do this was Hideki Matsui for the Angels against the Rockies on June 26, 2010. Matsui’s slam came off Aaron Cook.

Teheran throws gem

Julio Teheran threw seven scoreless innings in the Braves’ win over the Nationals on Tuesday night. It was the seventh time this season that Teheran pitched at least six innings and did not allow an earned run, tying him with Ervin Santana, Mike Clevinger and Zach Davies for the second most such games in the major leagues. Chris Sale leads the majors with nine games of at least six innings pitched and zero earned runs allowed.

Happy Birthday Freddie

Freddie Freeman celebrated his 28th birthday by hitting a three-run homer and rapping out two other hits in the Braves’ win over the Nationals on Tuesday night. Freeman is batting .467 (14-for-30) with two homers and eight RBIs in eight career games played on his birthday. Freeman has hits in each of his last seven birthday games.

GW-hit for Urena and Williams

Richard Urena’s third hit was a walkoff single in the Blue Jays’ 3-2 comeback win over the Orioles, while Nick Williams’s third hit was the walkoff winner for the Phillies over the Marlins. Urena and Williams are the third and fourth rookies this season to have three hits and a walkoff RBI in the same game. Andrew Benintendi did it on June 13 (3 hits) and Clint Frazier on July 8 (3 hits).

Hechavarria’s HR beats Yankees

Adeiny Hechavarria’s solo home run off Sonny Gray gave the Rays a 2-1 win over the Yankees at Citi Field on Tuesday night. It was the third go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later of Hechavarria’s career. His two others both came in 2015 while he was with the Marlins. He hit one off Boone Logan of the Rockies in the tenth inning on June 7, 2015 and one off Brandon Maurer of the Padres on August 2, 2015.

An Earl Weaver special

Ben Gamel and Kyle Seager each slammed three-run homers for the Mariners at Arlington Tuesday night. Tuesday’s game marked the fourth time this season that the Mariners have hit at least two homers with multiple men on base in the same game (the others were April 23 at Oakland, June 2 vs Tampa Bay, and June 6 vs Minnesota.) The Astros are the only other team has done that at least four times this season.

Go-ahead HR for CarGo

Carlos Gonzalez hit a two-run home run in the seventh inning turning a 2-2 tie into a 4-2 lead in the Rockies’ win over the Diamondbacks. It was the 15th go-ahead homer in the seventh inning or later of Gonzalez’s career, all for the Rockies. That’s the fourth most such home runs for any player in Rockies history, behind Todd Helton (27), Dante Bichette (21) and Vinny Castilla (16).

Verlander turning back the clock

Justin Verlander allowed only one hit in eight innings in the Astros’ win over the Angels. Verlander is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and 16 strikeouts in two starts with the Astros. Only one other pitcher in Astros history went 2-0 with at least 16 strikeouts and an ERA as low as Verlander’s over his first two starts with the team. Collin McHugh in 2014 (2-0, 0.59 ERA, 19 SO).

Kershaw is 9-1 on the road this season. He won nine of his first ten road decisions in 2014. Two other pitchers in Dodgers history went 9-1 or better in their first ten road decisions of a season twice: Don Newcombe in 1951 and 1955 and Sandy Koufax in 1965 and 1966.